Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us
  • Follow SWCS on Twitter
  • Visit SWCS on Facebook
Research ArticleResearch Section

Conservation practices and gully erosion contributions in the Topashaw Canal watershed

G.V. Wilson, F.D. Shields, R.L. Bingner, P. Reid-Rhoades, D.A. DiCarlo and S.M. Dabney
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation November 2008, 63 (6) 420-429; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.63.6.420
G.V. Wilson
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
F.D. Shields Jr.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
R.L. Bingner
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
P. Reid-Rhoades
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
D.A. DiCarlo
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
S.M. Dabney
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Quantifying the effectiveness of conservation practices at the watershed scale throughout the nation has been identified as a critical need. Our objective was to determine the effectiveness of these conservation practices for reducing sediment yield. The Topashaw Canal watershed (TCW), an 11,000-ha (27,181-ac) area in northcentral Mississippi, exhibits flashy stream response to storms with mean sediment concentrations (117 mg L-1 [117 ppm]) almost double the median sediment concentration (60 mg L-1). The most prevalent conservation practice imposed by acreage, since 1985, is enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (e.g., planting of pine trees). Grade-stabilization structures (e.g., drop pipes) are the most common conservation practice used to control gully erosion within the TCW. These structures are estimated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to reduce annual sediment yield from 11.5 to 0.1 Mg ha-1 yr-1 (5.13 to 0.05 tn ac-1 yr-1), but measurements have not been made to determine the accuracy of these estimates. Nonetheless, an average of 58 drop pipes have been installed annually within the TCW using Environmental Quality Incentives Program funds, and an additional 5.4 large drop pipes have been installed each year using US Corps of Engineers funds. Annual gully erosion accounted for 54% of the total sediment yield of over 73,000 Mg (80,445 tn) from TCW. The shift in land use to Conservation Reserve Program, combined with channel incision, has resulted in streambank failure and gully erosion being the primary sources of sediment currently leaving the watershed.

Footnotes

  • Glenn V. Wilson is a physical hydrologist at the Watershed Physical Processes Research Unit, F. Douglas Shields Jr. is a hydraulic engineer at the Water Quality and Ecology Research Unit, and Ronald L. Bingner is an agricultural engineer at the Watershed Physical Processes Research Unit, National Sedimentation Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Oxford, Mississippi. Pamela Reid-Rhoades is a county operations trainee, USDA Farm Service Agency, Louisville, Mississippi. David A. DiCarlo is an assistant professor, Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, Texas. Seth M. Dabney is an agronomist at the Watershed Physical Processes Research Unit, National Sedimentation Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service.

  • © 2008 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation: 63 (6)
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Vol. 63, Issue 6
November/December 2008
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Conservation practices and gully erosion contributions in the Topashaw Canal watershed
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
1 + 12 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Conservation practices and gully erosion contributions in the Topashaw Canal watershed
G.V. Wilson, F.D. Shields, R.L. Bingner, P. Reid-Rhoades, D.A. DiCarlo, S.M. Dabney
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Nov 2008, 63 (6) 420-429; DOI: 10.2489/jswc.63.6.420

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Conservation practices and gully erosion contributions in the Topashaw Canal watershed
G.V. Wilson, F.D. Shields, R.L. Bingner, P. Reid-Rhoades, D.A. DiCarlo, S.M. Dabney
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Nov 2008, 63 (6) 420-429; DOI: 10.2489/jswc.63.6.420
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Effects of hydrology, watershed size, and agricultural practices on sediment yields in two river basins in Iowa and Mississippi
  • Fine sediment sources in Conservation Effects Assessment Project watersheds
  • Measuring conservation program best management practice implementation and maintenance at the watershed scale
  • The Conservation Effects Assessment Project benchmark watersheds: Synthesis of preliminary findings
  • Quantifying relative contributions from sediment sources in Conservation Effects Assessment Project watersheds
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Phytoremediation and high rainfall combine to improve soil and plant health in a North America Northern Great Plains saline sodic soil
  • Combining a saltation impact sensor and a wind tunnel to explore wind erosion processes–A case study in the Zhundong mining area, Xinjiang, China
  • Management of nutrient export from diffuse sources in watersheds for environmental protection under uncertainty
Show more Research Section

Similar Articles

Content

  • Current Issue
  • Early Online
  • Archive
  • Subject Collections

Info For

  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • Subscribers
  • Advertisers

Customer Service

  • Subscriptions
  • Permissions and Reprints
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy

SWCS

  • Membership
  • Publications
  • Meetings and Events
  • Conservation Career Center

© 2022 Soil and Water Conservation Society